As we say goodbye to 2009, take another personal inventory from author and teacher, Debbie Ford.

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It's so easy to make promises about the year ahead. You will follow your diet, be more financially responsible, be kinder to your spouse, spend more time at the gym...But, for most, the promises you make today will be empty dreams six months from now. So let's examine this. I would suggest this happens because real change doesn't occur when you just want something or wish for another reality. Real change happens when you feel genuinely inspired, turned on by possibility and unwilling to settle for anything less. It happens when you commit with all of yourself to a new way of life, to a new future. So how do you do this?

To feel inspired and lit up and to make room for optimism, enthusiasm, and lasting change, you must lighten your emotional load by addressing your past issues, your emotional blocks, your negative beliefs, your feelings of unworthiness and any infantile desires that drive you to repeatedly head off in a direction counter to your dreams. If you drop your commitments, it is not because you want to be seen as a quitter or a loser but because unconsciously you are more committed to an outdated self -- an old identity that feels comfortable and safe even though it might have stopped serving you years ago. Often, psychological laziness will have you switch your life over to autopilot and fall asleep at the wheel rather than stay awake to what will fulfill your heart's deepest desires and your soul's purpose.

On this eve of a new year, a very fertile time to look over your past and commit to a new future, you can ask these simple questions to unload some old baggage and steer your life in the direction of a brilliant and thrilling future -- the ride of your life.

1. What are your deepest desires for this new year?
2. What are you willing to give up to get them? What habits, limiting beliefs, unhealthy relationships or situations?
3. When did you become unwilling to do whatever it takes to have what you want?
4. What cravings or unmet needs will drive you away from your desired destination?
5. What structure of support will you need to ensure this new future?
6. Who could you count on to be your co-pilot to ensure that you will neither fall short of the runway nor overshoot your desired outcome? Who will help you stay awake?

If you wish to fly to new heights, begin by setting your sights on a destination you can reach and then create a flight plan, a map that will be your guide. And if at any time you don't feel like following your flight path, stop, take a deep breath, call forth your vision for your future, then pick up your phone, dial your co-pilot and ask them to remind you that veering off your route really isn't worth the pain of repeating the past. Veering off will only leave you in the same repetitive pattern of wanting, wishing, fantasizing, and then feeling intensely disappointed when you land at a destination other than the phenomenal future that awaits you.

So today, YOU have the power to choose the destination of your dreams, create a flight plan and stick to it. So gather your courage, your strength and your commitment and get onboard, making 2010 the most inspiring year of your life.
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"Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored."
~ Earl Nightingale

Happy New Year to you all!
Coach Carolyn

As we wind down 2009, I want to share articles that will guide and transition you into a beautiful 2010. From First 30 Days, this article helps take personal inventory and ask some quality questions.


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The end of another year can bring up some tough times for many of us. We blame ourselves for the weight we put on. We criticize ourselves for the dream we didn’t pursue. We realize that we are yet again single for the holidays or we have racked up more debt. Whatever our demon is, we tend easily to forget a lot of what happened that led us to make our decisions. So let’s take a very different look back at 2009.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself that will radically change your view on this past year:

1) Whom did I meet this year who is now in my life?
2) What emotion really caused me to grow? Courage? Faith?
3) What emotion was I unafraid to feel? Fear? Sadness?
4) What am I most proud of?
5) In what area of my life did I really make some progress?
6) What did I do that completely surprised me and was unexpected to me?
7) Whom did I really help?
8) What is the biggest lesson I really faced?
9) What am I most grateful for?
10) What were the most fun times I had?

We get what we focus on. So despite the impossibly super-human standards we set for ourselves, we need to take a moment to realize what we gave to others, what went well, what worked out, what lesson life wanted us to learn this year, and what gifts were hidden that we could not possibly have predicted 12 months ago.

There are years for action and years for reflection. There are years for love and years for alone time. There are years for giving and years for receiving.

Be gentle on yourself and light on life.
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To your success in 2010!
Coach Carolyn

 
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